Manufacturing cells such as lithium-ion secondary cells is a complex process characterized both by the chemical interactions that must necessarily occur between the involved substances as well as the mechanical challenges in effectively and reliably assembling several components into a small housing in a sequence that often cannot be reversed. That is, cells are typically fully assembled and thereafter conditioned in a formation process involving electrical charging/discharging as well as heat treatment, before any realistic opportunity exists to quality check the cell. In addition, if a defective cell is discovered at such a late stage in the process, the cell must normally be discarded (e.g., sent to recycling) because there is no practical way to correct the defect at that point. As such, the formation process is an important part of cell manufacturing.